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Issue link: https://magazine.cyclenews.com/i/128347
• lional Cross Country Series
My
OWN RACE:
31 Rodney Smith
4th
After running up front and getting his bike tangled in wire, the
four-time GNCC Champ was thinking on ly about helping his
title chances. "O nce ' caught back up to Raines, I just knew I had
to ride with him and do what I needed to do," Smith said. "I
knew Raines was following me, and there was a part of me that
said, 'Don't drag Jason up to the front . IfI drag him up to the
front, and the n we all get stuck in this mud hole and he gets by
and wins, the whole thing will backfire.' So there was a side of
me than didn't want to even catch the lead group ."
2
Jason Raines
5th
Before the race, Raines admitted he has been riding with a crack in his shoulder socket, so
he was just trying to ride the season out. But he did we ll, ridingon the rear fender of his
title rival Smith during the latter stages of the race. '" had a good start , but a couple of guys
fell , and I was right behind Robbie [jenks] and Michael [Lafferty}," Raines said. "But I caught
my neck on a vine and got ripped off of my bike. It was back and forth out there with that
technical stuff. There was a lot of swapping. We came flying down through this mud hole,
and I tr ied to go around Michael [Lafferty}, and I looped it out there . Another time I just
totally center punched him. It allcame down to those mud holes, it was kind of fun. At the
end ' caught up to Rodney [Smith}, but he was riding just making
sure he didn't make any mistakes, and I couldn't really push it or
anything."
113 Glenn Kearney
8th
After a spectacular ride and a podium at the previous GNCC ,
the Australian Enduro Champion was in position to do it again
by running with the lead pack. But bad luck set in. "I came in for
a fuel stop and Igot co nfused. I wasn't really sure who was going
to fuel me: ' said Kearney, who is riding as a guest of the Am Pro
Yamaha team and didn't have his own mechanic. "Everyone was
stop ping, so there was no one to fuel me. Then I ran out of rolloffs on my goggles, and there was no way to get new ones. So I
threw m y gogglesoff the re in the pits. I lost some time there.
But t hey met me out on the course with goggles. I was at the back of the freight train, then
Igot to a mud hole, and I picked a good line and passed five guys in one spot. I couldn't
believe my luck! But probably fIVe minutes after that' clipped a
tree and lost my front brakes. That was it, I just faded back."
711 Josh McLevy
Kawasaki rider Chuck Woodford had his best finish
of the year with a third'place finish .
reacts a little differently than w hat I'm
use d to," Haw k said. "It took a couple of
laps befo re I could get comfortable ."
Smit h stayed up fro nt until he snagged
a fence and hung his bike up .
"I ro de up front , rode good and felt
good," Smith said. "Then on t he fourth
lap after gas , I got some w ire stuck up in
the rear brake . I was try ing to sneak
inside of McLevy for the lead again. I
thought it w as a vine , but it was w ire , and
it grabbed my rear brake and stopped the
bike. I had to stop and get it o ut . I went
from second back to 12th."
Fro m there, Smith would mount a big
charge to ge t bac k into a solid po intspaying po sition. Meanwhile, McLevy had
mud sp lash up under his goggles and
34
dro pped back. By then, Haw k was ready
to po unce as he moved into the lead, w ith
Woodford and Blackwe ll right behind.
The entire race was boiling down to a
pair of big mudholes, where everyone
was stacking up try ing to find good lines
and avo id slower, stuck riders. Blackw e ll
tried to make a pass on Woodford in one
of them and ended up taki ng both of
them down.
"I was following Barry for a w hile, and
we got into first and se cond," Wo od ford
said. "But Doug got a little too excited in
a mud hole , and we crashed. I mean, I was
in t here and I just saw a yellow bike come
flying at me, and I just got out of the way
before I got plowed. That would have
ended my day right there. But we were
oaOBER 27, 2004 • CYCLE NEWS
6th
Yet another great ride from the suddenly consistent McLevy.
"I'm just going smooth and staying in there all day," McLevy said.
'J\nd then when the two -lap board comes out, , charge. Leading
early was great, but I lost my goggles, so that's when I lost a
bunch of spots. So I was able to make a few spots up, though,
and I felt comfortable."
stuck in a rut together, and we had to pull
ou r bikes apa rt ."
"C huc ky is right . I got a little aggres sive
down th ere in that mud hole ," Blackw ell
said. "I was just t rying eve ryth ing I cou ld
to get aro und him and go after Barry.
After tha t I just t ried to reel him in, but
Barry 's riding so good right now, I coul dn't
do it . Too little , too late ."
As fo r the defendi ng champ ion , Hawk
was hap py that his hard work had paid off.
"O nce I got into the lead I really tried
to push ," Hawk said. "I tho ught I had a big
lead, but when I got to the last lap; my
mechanic put out the board and it sa id ' IB
seconds: I was th inking, 'Oh no , they're
catching me!' So I just put my hea d down
and charged the whole last lap, and I
40th A nn iversary
ended up pulling away a little bit. Th e last
five Nationals I have raced, I have four
wins and a second, so things are going
eN
pretty good: '
POWER LINE PARK
ST. CLAIRSVILLE, OHIO
RESULTS: OCTOBER 10, 2004
(ROUND 13 OF 14)
PRO a /A: I. Ilany H. wI